Alden's Death
by Amar13
Summary: Alden is Ulrich's brother. He's the reason Ulrich and his parents are so cold, but WHY? It'a a really sweet one shot! It doesn't have any pairing, but it's really nice! R&R! PG for death of a character.


**A/N: **Hey everyone!!! I'm glad you have decided to read this. I would like to point out that this fic includes a death so I don't know how prepared you are for that. It's nothing major, I don't go over board wtih it, although it is the main plot idea.  
Well, happy reading!

xoxoxo,

Amanda

PS; Remember it's a one shot!!! lol...

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code Lyoko, I only own Alden, if you call it owning... I guess...

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_Alden… Alden… Alden… Alden…_

Ulrich kept repeating that name over and over in his head. Ever since that stupid teacher had told him to write a report about his childhood, he had totally zoned out.

Ulrich was lying in his bed looking at the ceiling trying not to think about his childhood. Ever since the incident happened, he never wanted to be reminded of that or his early years again.

Ulrich closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep. He was having a dream of his childhood, something that had really happened, and something he didn't want to remember.

-

_Finally! School was over. The teachers were nice, there was no homework, and nothing but the clear sky and the beach was waiting for Ulrich and his brother Alden. As he walked home from school, he could almost feel the soft salty air from the beach._

_Ulrich had just finished 3rd grade. He was just eight years old. His brother Alden was ten and had finished fifth grade. They had both just gotten their grades from school. Alden already expected his report card to be filled with A pluses, but Ulrich wasn't so sure. He knew he did enough to get by, but he would never be as good as Alden._

_Once they got home, both parents rushed over to them and gave them a big hug. Their father hugged Alden, while their mother hugged Ulrich, and then they switched._

"_I can't wait to see your grades, son." Mr. Stern said to Alden "Yours too Ulrich." he said finally realizing his presence. Alden took the envelope and ripped the top out. He handed the paper to his father. His eyes went from side to side looking at every grade. Mr. Stern's wife looked over his shoulder at Alden's grades. Her eyes went wide._

"_Great job, honey!" she said. Mrs. Stern gave him another hug, even tighter actually._

"_I'm proud of you, son." Mr. Stern said happily, giving him a pat on the head. He was never the kind to show emotion._

"_Let's see yours, Ulrich." Mrs. Stern said. Little Ulrich handed her a white envelope. She opened it and looked inside. There lay Ulrich's grade. She took the paper with gentleness, as do all caring mothers, and looked at it. Mr. Stern paid slightly any attention until his wife gave him a nudge. He looked over at the paper in her hand._

"_Good job, Ulrich." Mr. Stern said "You've slightly improved."_

"_You did a great job too, sweetheart." Mrs. Stern said and gave Ulrich a tight hug. Mr. Stern turned around and left to his study, where no one was allowed to go under any circumstances. Mrs. Stern placed Ulrich's report card in his hand and straightened up her skirt._

"_I'm going to finish making lunch for you two" she said and left for the kitchen. Ulrich looked at the paper in his hand. A giant _B_ was on it. He knew he would never be as good as Alden._

-

Ulrich woke up with a startle. He looked around and saw Odd who had just closed the door.

"Sorry the door slam woke you up." He said.

"No, it's okay. I was having a nightmare anyways" Ulrich sat up on his bed.

"So, want to go get some lunch?" Odd smiled. Ulrich could do nothing but smile back at his innocence. He knew nothing about his past, nor had he any terrible memories of his own past. Pure bliss, he should call it, innocence.

"Sure." Ulrich agreed, trying to imitate Odd's sincere smile.

Over at the lunch room, Ulrich barely touched his food. He knew he should eat, but he was just too depressed. Luckily, Odd never shut his mouth enough time to notice. Who knows what kind of scene Odd would make if he did!

By the time Jeremy, Aelita and Yumi had arrived, Ulrich decided he wasn't doing anything productive there, so he just left.

Ulrich returned to his room and laid down on his bed. He kept trying to take Alden off his mind, but he couldn't. It lingered in his mind, even if it was in the very back of it. After much trying to push it out of his thoughts, Ulrich fell asleep. He couldn't help but have another dream about his childhood.

-

_It was Thanksgiving. Everything was great! There was a delicious turkey, a grand family, health, love. Ulrich smiled to himself. He knew he should really be grateful. He got out of his seat and went over to his mother._

"_Mom, can I have some more soda, please?" little eight-year-old Ulrich said happily._

"_Sure." his mother said and guided his to where all the soda bottles where. Alden had just arrived and was serving himself some more soda, as well. He quickly finished serving some soda and left to go back to the table. Mrs. Stern grabbed the soda bottle and took Ulrich's cup._

"_Oh no!" she said "Sorry, honey, there's no more left. Your brother took the last of it." she handed back the cup to Ulrich. He walked over to the table with a sad face. Suddenly, he had an idea._

_Ulrich walked over to where Alden was._

"_Alden, do you think you could give me some of your soda, please?" Ulrich asked kindly. Alden stood up from his chair. He was easily two inches taller than Ulrich. Alden bent down to look Ulrich straight in the eye._

"_Look, bro, there's something I've always wanted to tell you and I think now your old enough to hear it." Alden said with a big grin on his face._

"_What?" Ulrich asked with the sweet smile he used to wear all the time. Alden sighed and said:_

"_Life's tough, get a helmet!" Alden slightly slapped Ulrich's forehead. Alden sat back down and never gave him any soda._

_That comment was so 'Alden.' Ulrich should have expected something like that. Like all brothers, Ulrich and Alden loved to tease each other. But deep down, they both knew the cared for and loved each other more than anything. That's just one of the reasons the accident hurt so much._

_In a way, Alden was right. Life is tough and life is unfair. Just look at what happened to Alden. Ulrich should be preparing for the worst, even if he thought what happened to Alden _was _the worst._

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Ulrich woke up at the sound of the bell. He got out of bed and managed to sulk to his next class on time. Ulrich sat on one of the last seats in the corner. He wasn't really in the mood for science, or history after that, or anything else for that matter.

After the last bell rang, Ulrich walked back to his dorm and laid down on his bed. He just couldn't handle homework right now…

Ulrich remained looking at the ceiling until dinner time when Odd came to look for him.

"You sure you don't want to come?" Odd asked.

"Yeah." Ulrich said, not taking his eyes off the ceiling. It was like a magnetical field not letting him look anywhere else.

"Can I have your portion?" Odd asked with a big, hopeful grin on his face.

"Sure." Ulrich agreed.

"Thanks!" Odd said and quickly got out of the room to head to dinner.

By the time Odd returned from dinner, Ulrich was already fast asleep. He was having another one of his dream, but this one would be the worst one yet.

-

_The foil was the armor and the brown bag was the horse. Alden was wearing foil to pretend he was a knight and Ulrich was wearing a big brown bag pretending to be a horse._

"_Hurry up, Ulrich!" Alden called out to his brother "We'll be late for the ball!" Ulrich was trying to run as fast as he could on four legs while his brother called to him from the other side of the backyard. They had been playing to be a knight and a horse for hours. It was as if they actually got along all of the time, even if it was actually only on those rare, special moments where everything in the world seems wonderful and peaceful._

"_Alden! Ulrich!" Mrs. Stern called from inside the house "Come inside, there's going to be a thunder storm." Alden and Ulrich hurried over to his mother. On his way there, Ulrich picked up one of the biggest balls he had seen in his life._

"_Can we play ball inside, mom?" Ulrich asked._

"_Sorry, honey, no balls in the house" his mother replied. Ulrich threw the ball back into the back yard._

"_Hey! That's my ball!" Alden said and went out to fetch it. Alden walked over to where the ball was, but before he could touch it, a giant lightning bolt hit poor little Alden. His mom just realized his foil was serving as a lightning rod, which is used to attract lightning._

_By the time Alden arrived at the hospital, he was already dead._

"_The bolt was too powerful for his small body to handle." the doctor said._

_No one in Ulrich's family was ever the same again. His father never showed his emotions at all, his mother was very cold, and Ulrich was losing touch with every thing that was dear to him. They would always remember Alden, but that was part of the problem. Mr. Stern was expecting Ulrich to be equal, if not better, to his brother. He never was, with the exception of soccer. Ulrich had always loved his brother, but sometimes he felt like he wished there was something he was better at than him, something his father would finally be proud of. _What would Alden do if he was here?_ Ulrich would find himself asking this question a lot after he died. He could never stop comparing himself to him. He was his guardian angel that helps him decide what's right and what's wrong. In a way, Alden's death is a good thing. He would always be with Ulrich. He would always help him. He would always be his brother. _Someday,_ Ulrich though, _I'll see him again. I'm sure.

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Ulrich woke up the next day from Odd's noisy alarm clock. Odd turned it off and turned to Ulrich.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a sincere face.

"Yeah, why not?"

"You have tears on you face" Odd finished. Ulrich gently touched his face. His cheeks where wet. A soft wind suddenly blew.

"Did you feel that?" Ulrich asked Odd as he got ready to get another five minutes worth of sleep

"Feel what?" Odd asked closing his eyes. Ulrich touched his cheeks again. They were dry.

_That's him_, Ulrich thought, _he doesn't want me to be sad. He'll always be with me._

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**A/N:** Well, I hope you liked it. It was a very touching story I've been meaning to write for a while. Please R&R!!! I could really apreciate encouragement / pointers. Flames are welcome, as long as you're not too rude about it and try to make constructive critisism!!!!

Thanks!

xoxoxo,  
Amanda!!!


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